OAK/PDX Reduced to 2X/Day (November 2018)
Oct 31, 2018, 9:14 am
#16
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,639
As noted above, that was with 737s because of the QX pilot shortage. This appears to be a voluntary decision to reduce the meager presence on the route even more.
Oct 31, 2018, 9:36 pm
#17
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 200
Probably mostly about getting the most bang for their dollar. OAK was not an airport that they gained footprint in the merger, WN has close to 75% of the market share at the airport, and AS battling at other California airport like SAN, my guess is that the numbers for OAK just did not pencil out. That and the fact a lot of people who use OAK head straight to swa.com for their ticket.
Oct 31, 2018, 11:45 pm
#18
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Nov 1, 2018, 6:31 am
#19
Join Date: May 2013
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Hence the timing of the seasonally-reduced schedule shows a focus on Portland point of sale, rather than OAK-based passengers.
Nov 1, 2018, 9:11 am
#20
Join Date: Apr 2007
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Probably mostly about getting the most bang for their dollar. OAK was not an airport that they gained footprint in the merger, WN has close to 75% of the market share at the airport, and AS battling at other California airport like SAN, my guess is that the numbers for OAK just did not pencil out. That and the fact a lot of people who use OAK head straight to swa.com for their ticket.
Nov 1, 2018, 9:52 am
#21
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I don't know if a concerted effort could break this pattern. I haven't seen much if any local marketing by AS (nor DL before it bailed on the LAX route).
Nov 1, 2018, 9:56 am
#22
Join Date: Apr 2007
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There's nothing inherently obstinate about East Bay flyers. Give them competitive fares, frequent service at convenient times, and a decent on-board experience coupled with some, you know, Marketing so they know you exist and they will come. I once got some very valuable business advice: "If you ignore your potential customers, they'll ignore you." It was true then and it's true for AS in OAK.
Nov 1, 2018, 10:10 am
#23
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Which is just crazy, because WN fares are often quite high. Pax are regularly paying >$500 RT to fly to SoCal or the NW on WN. It stopped being a low cost carrier years ago but the myth persists.
I don't know if a concerted effort could break this pattern. I haven't seen much if any local marketing by AS (nor DL before it bailed on the LAX route).
I don't know if a concerted effort could break this pattern. I haven't seen much if any local marketing by AS (nor DL before it bailed on the LAX route).
Nov 1, 2018, 10:14 am
#24
Join Date: Dec 2004
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There's nothing inherently obstinate about East Bay flyers. Give them competitive fares, frequent service at convenient times, and a decent on-board experience coupled with some, you know, Marketing so they know you exist and they will come. I once got some very valuable business advice: "If you ignore your potential customers, they'll ignore you." It was true then and it's true for AS in OAK.
Nov 1, 2018, 10:27 am
#26
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,639
Which is just crazy, because WN fares are often quite high. Pax are regularly paying >$500 RT to fly to SoCal or the NW on WN. It stopped being a low cost carrier years ago but the myth persists.
I don't know if a concerted effort could break this pattern. I haven't seen much if any local marketing by AS (nor DL before it bailed on the LAX route).
I don't know if a concerted effort could break this pattern. I haven't seen much if any local marketing by AS (nor DL before it bailed on the LAX route).
Nov 1, 2018, 10:33 am
#28
Join Date: Apr 2007
Programs: Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 75K
Posts: 475
There is certainly marketing out there. There's the giant Durant billboard facing both terminals at OAK, and similar advertising ("Bring it in, Oakland") throughout BART, even at SFO. Most Ford bike share stations in Oakland are Alaska-branded. AC Transit bus shelters have AS-to-Hawaii advertising now. I doubt there's an airline with more physical advertising out there now. It's just odd to do so much in the east bay, including Oakland-specific advertising, but then not try to leverage with any actual service.
Nov 1, 2018, 10:41 am
#29
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,639
Yes, you do have to actually deliver an attractive product along with your marketing or you're wasting your money. At best, you'll get them to look at your website and when they see a pathetic offering, they'll bail and you won't get a second look for a long time. Play the game properly or go home.
Nov 1, 2018, 10:49 am
#30
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 200
I absolutely agree will you. They don't want to fight for it because they can get a higher return on their limited resources at another airport where WN is not quite as dominant, ie less than 70% market share. Very similar to what happened in Spokane. At one point AS withdrew all mainline from Spokane and only serving the city with Horizon flights. Once they worked through the challenges in the other parts of the system mainline service returned. Something very similar may happen at OAK or they just may decide to withdraw from the airport completely. It depends on where they can make the best return on their investment.